flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Floating landscape infrastructure wins top ASCE innovation prize

Codes and Standards

Floating landscape infrastructure wins top ASCE innovation prize

Climate resiliency a key theme of entrants.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | July 26, 2019
Emerald Tutu floating waterfront infrastructure

Courtesy ASCE

A sustainable, climate-change-resilient floating landscape infrastructure took the top prize of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s latest Innovation Contest.

The winner, Emerald Tutu, provides a floating waterfront infrastructure that provides a city with an inhabitable waterfront amenity while mitigating the effects of climate change. “The contest is a springboard for forward-looking infrastructure ideas and aims to identify cutting-edge ideas from civil engineers, including students, educators, practitioners, and project managers,” according to an ASCE news release.

Another concept, “Smart Walls: Telescopic Structural Walls for Flood Protection,” also addressed climate resiliency. Smart Walls are deployable walls that are hidden in the ground and extend telescopically when needed to stop floodwaters.

The winner in the Best Student Submission category: “Rapid Restoration of Deteriorated Pre-stressed Concrete Bridges Using Mechanically Fastened Fiber Reinforced Polymer,” addressed deteriorated pre-stressed concrete bridge superstructure. It proposed a method to extend the useful life of infrastructure at low cost.

 

The Emerald Tutu from Very Flat on Vimeo.

Related Stories

| Jun 5, 2014

Over budget Homeland Security headquarters project may be canceled

A massive new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security is more than $1.5 billion over budget, 11 years behind schedule, and may never be completed.

| Jun 5, 2014

Insurance giant sues nearly 200 Illinois communities for failing to prepare for climate change

Farmers Insurance filed nine class action suits against nearly 200 communities in the Chicago area, saying that local governments should have prepared for rising global temperatures that have led to heavier rains and flooding.

| Jun 4, 2014

Dikes, water pumps, and parks will help New York City area be more resilient

The Obama Administration has pledged $1 billion in federal funding to protect the New York City region from flooding like the area experienced from Superstorm Sandy.

| Jun 4, 2014

Green initiative may scuttle high-rise projects in Berkeley, California, critics charge

Volunteers in Berkeley, Calif., are collecting signatures for the “Green Downtown & Public Commons Initiative,” a controversial measure that critics charge would halt some development in the city.

| Jun 2, 2014

Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages

The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.

| May 28, 2014

Commercial building measurement standard could meet resistance from owners

For some building owners, a new measurement standard could mean that their building would shrink in size and lose value.

| May 28, 2014

Resiliency measures for hurricanes can help with tornadoes

Architect Butch Grimes, who examined the wreckage after a half-mile tornado struck Tuscaloosa, Ala., believes toughening building codes can reduce damage from twisters.

| May 28, 2014

Rooftop wind turbines becoming green status symbol in New York City

New York City developers are using rooftop wind turbines in an effort to attract buyers by highlighting a building’s green credentials.

| May 28, 2014

Peer review process under way for the WELL Building Standard

The standard is the first protocol of its kind that focuses on improving human wellness within the built environment by identifying specific conditions that, when holistically integrated into building interiors, enhance the health and wellbeing of the occupants.

| May 22, 2014

ASHRAE releases best practice guide for liquid cooling systems in data centers

The publication provides guidelines on interface requirements between chilled-water systems and technology cooling systems and on the requirements of liquid-cooled systems that attach to a datacom electronics rack.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Sustainability

Grimshaw launches free online tool to help accelerate decarbonization of buildings

Minoro, an online platform to help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, was recently launched by architecture firm Grimshaw, in collaboration with more than 20 supporting organizations including World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), RIBA, Architecture 2030, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and several national Green Building Councils from across the globe.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021